Dryad Minois dryas (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) used to be a relatively widespread species in Poland. However recently it has been recorded exclusively in the Cracow-Czestochowa upland, where it thrives on its last natural site and a few others to which it has been successfully introduced. Our new data suggest that the situation of the butterfly is less dramatic. It was found at eight sites in the Bieszczady Mts. and Beskid Niski Mts. (SE Poland) i.e. in a region where it had never been recorded before. The typical habitats of M. dryas were south east to south west-facing slopes covered with tall grasses and herbs with some bushes and trees. Other rare and threatened xerothermophilous species i.e. Iphiclides podalirius, Phengaris (Maculinea) arion and P. rebeli were often sympatric. M. dryas probably previously inhabited at least a few hardly accessible sites, and its presence was overlooked. Socio-economic changes in the 1970s accompanied by agricultural abandonment might result in the creation of some new sites for the butterfly. Unfortunately very recent intensification of agriculture related to the accession of Poland to the EU and the introduction of a subsidy system may lead very quickly to the reversal of this trend. Sites of M. dryas and other threatened xerothermophilous species should be protected and suitably managed.
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